IKEA founder takes frugality ‘too far’

NEVER mind the recession, shoppers flocking to IKEA’s new Dublin store next year will still get more for their money because Ingvar Kamprad, the stingy founder of the Swedish furniture giant, always made sure he got more for his.

Mr Kamprad, in his 80s, is one of the world’s richest men but his reputation for thrift precedes him. He is famous for eating in cheap restaurants, staying in cheap bed and breakfast establishments, flying economy class and travelling by bus.

But the king of British interior design, Terence Conran, told RTÉ’s Marian Finucane that he was not too impressed by Mr Kamprad’s frugality.